The Battle For Desire
by Corpsegirl93
Summary: Several years have passed since Victor and Emily last saw each other, and things have not been good. A war has broken out between the living and the dead, and only Emily can stop it.
1. Chapter 1

A Battle for Desire

Author's note: "Hello readers! Here is the next supply of Corpse Bride fan fic! I have been rather busy lately, but never-the-less, I have managed to piece together a fan fic just for you, my viewers. I hope you enjoy this next instalment, and that you will happily review and favourite. Sending fan fic love from the miserable south of the UK, here begins a new chapter of a new story!

Love Corpsegirl93

Chapter One:

Victor's P.O.V:

Date: 15th October 1865.

Time: 10:55am.

Current situation: Bachelor for second time, lonely, miserable and bored.

What to do: Draw some more. Look out the window. Sigh deeply. Wish the weather was better.

"Nothing that hasn't been done before" I thought, as I sat in my chair by the desk at the window, in my room. I was writing down in my diary, a new addition to my changed life, noting what was going on.

"Nothing much" I added. Sitting back in my chair and taking another deep sigh, I ran my long thin fingers through my thick dark hair. Another day. Another day of nothing to do but sit, sigh and let the world go by. And possibly draw a butterfly or two, if I had enough ink to spare. Or draw maybe a skeleton? Or a spider? Something to remind me of the Land of the Dead. Maybe, if I drew her? No. She's too perfect to draw, if I made a tiny mistake, it would hurt. You either get her perfectly right or disastrously wrong. She was too beautiful for mistakes when it came to portraits and caricature. The spider it is, then.

Reaching for a piece of paper, I noted the time on my watch. 10:58 am. Just a few more minutes until eleven o clock. A few more minutes until the decision was made.

If you're wondering what I mean by that, readers, here's a brief explanation: You see, a few months ago, a certain village boy and a mysterious woman – along with hundreds of dead people behind them – appeared in this village, in preparation for a wedding. But this was no ordinary wedding. The bride was dead, but the groom was very much alive. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it was noted that the dead should not be amongst the living. Once they were dead, they had no other purpose or use for the living world. Nothing more than rotting bones and still-beating hearts. Well, because of this 'outrage' caused by the wedding, a confrontation was made between the Elder of the Dead world, and the Pastor of this land. In short, if an agreement is made between the two of them, both Lands will remain in peace and comfort, knowing neither of them can ever come close to each other again. In other words, the Dead must never return to the Land of the Living, and the living may only travel 'downstairs', but only in death.

The same old routine.

Except if a decision isn't made that they both agree on…well then, we have a problem.

All this would be decided by 11 am, today. And only one minute remained.

I was dreading this. If they disagreed, trouble and chaos would consume the village. But if they agreed and shook hands, then I could never return to the Land of the Dead, not even to reunite myself with old friends and a…a lover of mine. Did she know this was happening? Did Emily know there was a risk of us never seeing each other again? If she did, I hope she was as nervous but as furious as I was.

Just seconds now. Seconds until the bell ringer rang out the latest news. I counted the seconds like each one was a vital heartbeat of mine until I dropped down dead. My palms were sweating, my head aching and my feet trembling. I got up, walking around the room, bracing myself for whatever news came. One way or another, I wasn't going to be happy. With whatever was decided. It was a lose-lose situation. I couldn't win.

The bell rang! I leapt to my bedroom window, opening the windows wide to see the bell ringer, bellowing at the top of his lungs. This was it, the moment of truth.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Pastor Galswells has announced that from here-on, residents of the underworld are hereby banned from entering this village. Elder of Underworld disagreed and chaos ensues. It is war! It is war! War has been declared!"

I stood at my window, the wind on my sweaty face. War? War between us and the Land of the Dead? Oh god! It was bad enough we were banned from coming in to contact with them, it would be suicidal and hell to battle with them. Oh dear god! It wasn't true. This wasn't happening. It was a dream. This was all a dream. One big horrible dream that would come to end, eventually. But I wasn't waking up. No matter hard I pinched myself, I didn't wake.

God dammit, why?! Why war?! I didn't want to fight my friends – dead or alive. There was only one way this would end, and it wouldn't be pretty. At that moment, my mother chose to leap through my bedroom door, not respecting any rules of my privacy.

"Victor! Have you heard?"

I turned to her, a look of sarcasm on my face. How can I not know? I'm leaning out of the window with anticipation and practically fuming from every single word.

"Yes mother, I've heard." I answered.

"They're already recruiting soldiers and generals. You should try out. Stop you wasting your time around here."

"By risking my own life against dead people? Sign up to fight against my own friends? No chance. I'd sooner die. At least then I'd be able to stand by them."

"Apparently you're the perfect company to have on this side. According to the rumours, you're ideal for the job because you've been down there. You'd know all their tactics and their weaknesses."

"I spent _**one day**_ down there, and I wasn't analysing their weaknesses. I won't be joining them mother."

"Suit yourself. But you have nothing better to do; now that Victoria has gone."

"I don't need reminding, thank you. Just, let me be alone, please?" I said, firmly.

"You should try" she added, before she shut the door behind her. 'Should I?' I thought.

No! Of course not! Why would I want to do such a thing?! Fight against my own friends over something I disagree with? I should be fighting _**with**_ them, not _**against **_them. Why don't I? Why don't I fight with them? Because I don't know how to get down there without dying. And because even if my life up here is as boring as hell, I still wanted to live out whatever years I had left. It was final. I wasn't fighting them. Not now, not ever.

"_Think about it Victor!"_

What? What was that? That voice! In my head. What? A voice in my head? Don't be ridiculous.

"_What's ridiculous is you not joining the battle!"_ the voice spoke again.

"Why would I want to join them?"

"_Remember that night?"_

"You're going to have to be more precise than that" I thought.

"_That night. In the church. With her. Remember who barged in? Besides Victoria."_

"Oh yes. Him."

"_Yes, him. Lord Barkis. What happened between you two?"_

"We fought, so what?"

"_Don't you remember that anger you felt inside you, knowing he was the one murdered who Emily? Don't you remember how much you wanted to see him suffer?"_

"It…it was only for a brief moment…until Emily took the hit."

"_Yes. But what if Emily hadn't defended you? You'd be dead. He'd probably still be alive. Wouldn't you want to see him suffer for his crimes?"_

"It is what he deserves, I won't deny that. But he's dead. I can't fight a dead man."

"_I beg to differ. It's about to happen. Hundreds, if not thousands of living and dead people will fight it out."_

"But for what? Peace? Justice? Happiness? Something else?"

"_Desire."_

"Desire?"

"_Yes, desire. The desire to get what they want, and will go to such lengths to get it."_

"Even murder?"

"_Even murder. Lord Barkis did it for the money. Slayed an innocent and beautiful girl just for the riches. Even planned to do it again. Someone stopped him though. Someone…very close to home."_

"I didn't stop him. Emily did. It was her revenge, not mine."

"_Yes. But the poison was__intended for you. It sat there on the table until someone else came along and drunk it. If Barkis hadn't drunk that wine, you'd be with Emily. Happily married."_

"He'd still be alive."

"_Yes, I won't deny that. But think of it this way – if Barkis hadn't shown up at the ceremony, you'd be with her. You'd be downstairs, happily married with not a care in the world. But he took that from you. He drank the poison; he died, leaving you with a wife that would eventually betray you. And right now, he's preparing to take his revenge on you. He's signing up to fight, at this very moment. He'll return to this land and slay more innocent lives. Do you want that?"_

"No, I don't…"

"_So sign up! It's the best thing to do."_

"No, it isn't! It's wrong! I won't do it! No voice in my head can't make me do it!"

"_Maybe not a voice, but your heart will decide."_

And with that, the voice stopped. I refused to believe a man like me could fight a battle he was against.

"_Sign up!"_

"Oh great, you're back!"

"_Did you miss me?"_

"Guess!"

"_I can see you're no closer to agreeing with me."_

"No, and I never will be."

"_I guess I'll have to do it myself."_

"How?" I thought, before the voice disappeared and was replaced with a skull-shattering headache, like someone had stabbed me in the head. In that moment, I saw the war as it would happen. Hundreds of men fighting, skeletons up against them, no hope of stopping. I was angry. All of my dead friends were fighting. Why? They knew I was on the enemy's side, why weren't they refusing to fight like I was against them? They carried on without a thought in the world. This made me furious. My own friends, who I chose to support by refusing to fight them, were ignoring this and going up against the living.

That was enough. The headache disappeared, fury bubbling inside me. With the pain gone but the images still in my head, I turned to my bedroom door and stormed out, towards the registry office. I was about to sign up. If my own friends would betray me, maybe a taste of their own medicine would sort them out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Narrator's P.O.V:

Down in the Land of the Dead.

The streets were deserted, the lights in the houses switched off, the Ball and Socket pub empty but still open. Everyone was away, fighting for their land – all except four people.

Paul the Head Waiter, Miss Plum, Bonejangles and Emily. They stayed behind and worked at the bar, anticipating the return of the residents of the land, whether they won or lost the battle.

"How long has it been now?" Miss Plum asked Paul, whose body-less head stood on the bar counter, his cockroaches scuttling around him as he looked over at their own-made calendar.

"Nine months today, Miss Plum" he answered.

"Nine months? Already?" Paul blinked and raised his eyebrows in agreement.

"Already" he sighed.

"Where has that time gone?" she added, wiping down the cutlery with her tea towel.

At that point, Bonejangles chose to stroll in through the pub doors, his bowler hat tipped to the edge of his skull.

"I'm sure he is doll. He won't get hurt. Can't feel any pain, he's already dead."

"As are so many others from this town. Why bother fighting against people already dead? Where's the satisfaction? Where's the reason?" Miss Plum argued.

"Purely for the hell of it. Fighting to prove life after death does exist. But they already knew that. They found out when our lovely Corpse Bride returned for her wedding…" Bonejangles said, sitting down at the bar.

"Shh! She'll hear you. She's in the back." Miss Plum whispered.

"What's she doing in the back?"

"Folding napkins. Keeps her busy, keeps her mind from wondering afar. Into unnecessary thoughts."

"Like what?" Paul asked. Miss Plum simply answered by raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, him" Bonejangles returned. "Speaking of _him_, I've just heard the latest from my boys on the field."

"How are they coping?"

"They're asking for more of your homemade pie, and they've updated us with some…rather disturbing news."

"Which is?" Paul asked. The bar went silent as Bonejangles steadied himself to reveal:

"Our old buddy Victor…the one who stole the heart of our Emily and gained our trust whilst down here…is leading the battle against us. He's the commander for the living."

The pub was so silent; a pin could drop and would sound like an avalanche was roaring through the bar.

"Our Victor? Living Victor?" Miss Plum croaked.

"The one and only" Bonejangles sighed.

"Leading the battle?" Paul asked.

"Oh yes. According to my boys, he was one of the first to sign up. Everyone was amazed that the man who travelled 'to hell and back with a smile on his face' had decided to 'get his revenge'."

"What revenge has he got against us?" Paul asked, horrified.

"I didn't think he _**had**_ any revenge in him. He was too nice a guy to even suspect of carrying such grudges." Bonejangles answered.

"Who'd of though it? Victor – the enemy?"

"Yep."

"Oh my god! We can't tell Emily."

"Why not?"

"It will destroy her. To hear the man she fell in love with is now fighting against her?"

"I didn't say her, as such. He's battling against the residents of…the Land…of the Dead."

"And she's a resident. She has been for over two years now." Miss Plum argued.

"Victor hasn't got anything against Emily" Bonejangles argued.

"Not as far as we know."

"Maybe he overlooked Emily and thought about Lord Barkis. He's part of this world now."

"Not anymore, he is. As the curse goes, the killer has to die before its victims can be freed. Lord Barkis went to hell as soon as Emily departed Victor."

"Technically, she didn't kill him, the poison did."

"Putting that aside, he's going against her and she doesn't know. And we mustn't tell her any of this. She must remain unbeknown to what's going on" Miss Plum argued, before she heard light footsteps approach from behind her.

Emily walked through the doorway leading the back of the bar, a huge pile of napkins in her hands. She was humming to herself, a cheerful tune that resonated with happiness and glee.

"Now listen to that, that's the first time in ages that she's been happy since Victor left. Do you want to take away that happiness by telling her?"

"Tell me what?" Emily asked, cocking her head towards the group of three that looked at her.

"Tell you…" Bonejangles started.

"Tell you that you've done a lovely job with those napkins, dear." Emily beamed with pleasure as she placed the remaining napkins on the bar counter.

"Oh, thank you. It really was no trouble. What else needs doing?" she asked, eagerly.

"Nothing more, dear. Why don't you take a break and head on home? You've worked so hard today."

"Oh it's no trouble Miss Plum. Um, I hope you don't mind but I meant to ask, I overheard Bonejangles saying he had an update from the field. What's the latest?"

Bonejangles looked to Emily, the urge to tell her all he knew raging through his ageing bones. Miss Plum looked to him, her eyes saying it all: "If you tell her, I will kill you!"

"Just saying they wish they had more of Miss Plum's pie with them. Nothing more."

"Oh, OK." Emily sighed, disappointment in her voice.

"Were you hoping for more news, dear?"

"Just…wondering if Victor was OK. What with a war right outside his door, I just worried about his safety."

"I'm sure he's fine, love."

"Why wouldn't he be?" Bonejangles added. He felt Miss Plum's glare upon him, but he simply looked down to the bar and tapped his bony fingers along to one his tunes.

"Oh well. Another day of no return" Emily sighed, observing the state of the bar.

"There's always hope for tomorrow" Miss Plum said, trying to raise a smile on Emily's face.

"You've said that for the past nine months" Emily replied, before turning away from the bar and walking out, trying to put on a brave face. She disappeared seconds later, leaving Paul, Miss Plum and Bonejangles alone in the bar.

"If you ever breathe a word to her…" Miss Plum pointed a stern finger at Bonejangles.

"You'll kill me, I know. Besides, I couldn't do that to her. It's bad enough we're in a war, but to learn the love of your life is amongst it – it's unbearable."

"Darn right, it is."

"But I can't help wondering if she overheard us or not."

"She didn't. Otherwise she would've said something" Miss Plum replied. She was wrong.

Emily _**had**_ heard everything. As soon as she walked out of the pub, she found herself leaning against the wall, her dead heart breaking once again. She stood stunned, listening to the dead silence of the town. Before she knew it, she was sprinting towards the bench on the hill – where she and Victor spent time together. She didn't care if her legs would give way at any moment, or if she'd fall to the stone ground. She was too mortified to feel any form of pain.

She arrived at the bench; braving the steep staircase and flinging herself on to the bench, letting her tears erupt from within as she broke down and collapsed in to sorrow and sadness. How could he?! How dare he! Why would he do such a thing? And to her? She thought he loved her and that he'd do nothing to hurt her. She assumed she was wrong.

Her sadness turned to fury, and she pounded her hands on the wood of the bench, screaming her anger amongst tears.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" she cried as she repeatedly threw her fists, not caring if her wrist was at risk of falling off, as it usually did. Her anger returned to small sobs that slowly died to rivers of tears.

"Why?! WHY?!" she suddenly screamed as she turned over and lay on her back, looking up to the sky of the Land of the Dead.

"How could you Victor?! Why would you do such a thing? What powers of evil made you do such a thing to me? Didn't you ever consider my feelings?" she asked herself all these questions, letting the tears stream continuously as she closed her eyes. She lay there, letting the sounds of her sobs echo across the land. They calmed to a general weep, before Emily's eyes opened. She looked up, sniffing away the tears and sitting upright on the bench, her hands gripping the edge, her legs crossed and her head bowed, letting her mangled hair fall over her face.

"If he has the decency to move on, then so can I" she said through gritted teeth. And with that, she got up from the bench, stormed down the stairs and with fury in her steps, walked back towards the pub.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Narrator's P.O.V:

Three months later:

"How many soldiers have arrived in the last week?"

"Around ten. No more than fifteen."

"And how's Emily coping?"

"Rather pleased with the sight of some good-looking men arriving down here but generally still depressed." Bonejangles answered. "I still can't believe she overheard us. I should've known she was hiding something. You know we heard her cries from the other side of town?"

"Oh my boy, really?" Elder Gutknecht asked.

"She was screaming and wailing like…like I've never heard before. I can't think what she went through."

"Yet she managed to walk back in to the pub ten minutes later, stronger than ever?"

"Unbelievable, I know. You'd think she had a whole character change in that time." Bonejangles added, propping his head in his hand as his arm rested upon his leg. They were both in the rear rooms of the kitchens, occasionally watching Miss Plum and Paul scuttle through the doors, collecting used and clean glasses for the recently dead soldiers, drinking heavily in the bar out front.

"I'm amazed how the soldiers were fighting against us and now they're down here, they act as if there was no war or hate between us. It's odd." Bonejangles said, nodding towards the noise of the crowd as Miss Plum entered, allowing the cheers of bar banter to flood through with her.

"I spoke to one earlier, and he agreed too. Said they only signed up for the war because of pressure. Not because they had any hate against us. Don't get me wrong, they miss their life, but they find the 'attractions' very satisfying."

"By 'attractions', you mean Emily?" Bonejangles cocked his hat to signal a raised eyebrow.

Elder Gutknecht simply nodded.

Emily was working her hours in the bar serving the soldiers, dealing with the wolf whistles and flirtatious banter that anyone aimed at her. She was getting used to the idea of being admired, made her feel feminine and alive again.

Since her discovery of Victor's betrayal, any man that caught sight of her was gladly welcomed by her friendly and flirty behaviour. Though it didn't give her the warm-hearted satisfaction that Victor gave her when they were shortly together. Though she missed it and she missed him, every time she recalled a certain memory of their existence, it was instantly replaced by fury and a burning desire to watch him suffer.

"Speaking of war, how long has it been going on for now?"

"Twelve months. It's been a long year" Bonejangles sighed.

"Indeed, my boy" Elder Gutknecht replied.

"And we're no closer to stopping it?" Bonejangles asked.

"On the contrary, some of our allies believe there may be a way of putting a halt to it. But it means facing the leader. Out on the field. In the middle of battle. No other way around it."

"By leader, you mean…?" Bonejangles nodded towards the bar front, where Emily was working.

"Yep. Him. Of all people in this world and the next, it has to be him!"

"Does Emily know this?"

"No. She knows he's the leader, but she doesn't know that confronting him will stop the war."

At that point, Bonejangles, Miss Plum and Elder Gutknecht looked to one another. They all had the same idea on their minds.

"You don't suppose?"

"No. It would be too great a risk."

"There's always a chance."

"She has a greater chance than anyone else."

"There are two possible outcomes to this: It doesn't work, or…"

"It does work."

"Or Emily goes out there for nothing."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it does work, the war stops, then what? We all carry on as if nothing happened?"

"What are you implying Miss Plum?" the Elder asked.

"If Emily goes out there, if she convinces Victor to stop and he does, where does it leave them? Thinking they'll have a chance again then break apart? No chance. Victor will throw her away like he did the first time, and Emily will have heart broken, again!"

"Or!" Bonejangles interrupted.

"Or nothing! It will never work. Besides, you'd have to convince Emily to do it first."

"Convince me to do what?" came an all too familiar voice from by the door.

They all turned to see Emily, standing in the doorway with four empty drinks glasses in her hands. She walked closer in to the room, placed them on the nearby table and folded her arms across her chest.

"So…what are you keeping from me? And don't lie. I've had enough lies to last me one lifetime."

Bonejangles looked to Miss Plum, Miss Plum looked to Elder Gutknecht who faced Emily.

"My dear…as you know, Victor is leading…"

"I know that part. Skip to the conclusion."

"We want you to go out in to the battlefield to face Victor, and tell him to stop fighting." Bonejangles blurted as Elder Gutknecht opened his mouth to talk again. They all faced him, shock and anger on their faces.

"She asked for the truth, that's what I gave her" he excused.

"You want me…to go out there…and face a man I cannot stand to even think about, let along talk to? Seriously?"

"I know it sounds risky…" Miss Plum began.

"Risky doesn't cover it!"

"But it's our only hope to stop the war. And only you can do it." Elder G said.

"But why me? Why not anyone of you, you know Victor."

"Because you have more of a relationship with him than any of us put together. Besides…our research has been done. You're the only woman he knows he can talk to about anything or even listen to!" Bonejangles pleaded.

"And what about Little Miss Living? Why can't she talk to him?"

"Victoria has left him."

"She what? When?"

"That's unknown to us, but she's gone and the only woman in Victor's life, besides his mother, is you. You know the saying: 'A son is a mother's son until he acquires a wife.' You know that saying?"

"Yes. So what?"

"He's only ever known two women in his life who weren't his mother. Victoria and you, my dear. You're the closest thing he has to a wife, now Victoria's gone" Elder stated.

"I still don't agree with this. I need time to think" Emily gasped, as she unfolded her crossed arms and walked out of the room, leaving the door swinging behind her. Silence filled the room as the Elder, Miss Plum and Bonejangles sat quietly, waiting for someone to talk. Bonejangles was the first.

"Well…that went well."

Emily felt like she was hallucinating.

First she was told her lover betrays her, now she's been asked to confront him? How mad! How bizarre! How ludicrous! How barbaric! How…ideal? No! Why would it be ideal? She didn't want to face him. She didn't even want to think about him let alone see him face to face. Though, deny it all she wanted, Victor still played on her mind. His handsome, boyish face when they first knew each other still flashed across her mind. His cheeky grin. His dark eyes. That face, that smile. Everything, even the way he dressed. Though she tried to ignore the anger she had with him, she still loved him.

Ha! It was like they were still together, like an old married couple, constantly bickering but ultimately going back to one another in the end. She giggled at the thought of her and Victor, still together when they were both grey and old, wrinkles all over their faces but their behaviour withstanding the test of time.

Did she really want to do this? Travel across a battlefield to face a man, both her enemy and her lover? Did she have a choice? Not really. It was either go with the flow, or watch as the war carried on without a hope of stopping. She enjoyed the new arrivals from the battlefield, but there were only so many soldiers to come before there were none left. Then where would it leave them? Unnecessary bloodshed over a ridiculous matter? No chance.

Silently accepting the challenge, Emily had decided. She returned to the room, where Bonejangles, Elder G and Miss Plum still remained, talking.

"I can't decide whether to do an old classic or a new release" Bonejangles said.

"An old classic. Never stops entertaining us" Miss Plum answered, before seeing Emily walk in. Their eyes looked up to see her, hope glistening in them. Emily had them waiting intentionally, knowing they were dying to hear her answer. No one spoke a word until Emily knew she had their attention. She took a deep breath, folded her arms again and looked at them individually.

"Well, I guess I have no other choice" she smiled weakly, watching as Elder Gutknecht sighed with relief as did Miss Plum and Bonejangles.

"You're sure, my dear?"

"I'm sure. Besides, I can confront him and talk to him about his betrayal. Kill two birds with one stone, ay?" she added. Miss Plum chuckled as Elder G got up from his seat and walked towards Emily.

"When do we leave?" she asked.

"No time like the present" he answered.

"Now?" she shrieked.

"Why not? Get it over and done with" Bonejangles added.

"But…I'm not prepared. I don't know what I'm going to say to him!"

"Think about it en route" Elder G advised, taking her by the hand and guiding her out the door, the others following her.

They journeyed to Elder Gutknecht's tower, where upon the tower of old dusty books stood stacked next to one another, just as always. Elder G let go of Emily's hand and walked up to his podium. Behind Emily, Bonejangles and Miss Plum followed.

"We're coming with you. You're not going out there all by yourself" Miss Plum said, standing to Emily's right side, Bonejangles on her left.

"Ready?" Elder Gutknecht asked, suddenly holding a crow's egg in his hand, preparing to crack it open and send them all upstairs via the Ukrainian Haunting Spell.

"Same way of return as before?" Emily asked.

"You know the word, my dear."

"Of course I do" Emily sighed, preparing herself.

"You should arrive in the middle of village, right on the battlefield" Elder G added, raising his arms to position the egg above their heads.

"In the middle? Why not in the woods where we can look from afar and make a plan?" Emily shrieked.

"It's called being spontaneous" Elder G advised as the contents suddenly poured from the egg down towards their heads. The silky golden mirage dazzled them all before they were enveloped.

Next stop: The Land of the Dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Upstairs, in the Land of the Living: Emily's P.O.V:

We arrived in the Land of the Living and what I saw shocked me to the core. Young men, no older than me when I died were fighting this battle, the sound of their guns and muskets resonating across the village square like fireworks. Bonejangles and Miss Plum were by my side, looking around in horror as much as me.

"Welcome to the battle field" Bonejangles said.

"Do you see him?" I asked, turning to him. But he had already fled to a spot by the village fountain, where Mayhew was struggling to fight a solider, no bigger than him. Bonejangles stepped in, grabbing a musket from a fallen soldier's body, raising it above his head and whacking the soldier around the head, knocking him to the ground. Mayhew smiled with thanks to Bonejangles, who then turned to face me, his only eye in total shock. What was going on? What were we fighting for? Why were we fighting? More importantly, where was the man who leading this battle? I couldn't see him. It was too chaotic to recognise any of their faces. I looked at every possible angle, trying to notice a face of so many memories and such wonderful times together, complete with short dark hair and a young, boyish smile. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Over the noise of the battle, I heard a cry from behind me, coming from a soldier. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, charging at me, holding something in his hand. He tossed it, as hard as he could, towards me.

And it hit me harder than I had thought it would. I thought it would bounce off my head with a simple *clink* and fall to the ground. But it didn't. It pushed me to the ground and stunned me. I lay on the hard ground of the village square, the cobbles scraping against my face. My god, that hurt! Opening my eyes and regaining my focus, I saw Bonejangles rushing towards me, his black bowler hat close to falling off his head. He knelt down to be by my side, taking my upper body in his arms.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice blending in with the background noise and chaos. At this volume, it was a miracle I could even hear him.

"Yes. I'm fine. What hit me?"

"A soldier's helmet."

"It felt like something bigger. Where is he? Can you see him?"

"He's over there" Bonejangles pointed a thin skeletal arm in the direction of a small hill, not far from the bridge where Victor and I first met.

The man was standing tall and proud, idolising his army and the battle that played before him. Getting up from the ground with help from Bonejangles, who immediately ran off to assist Miss Plum as she battled a soldier with her cooking utensils, I caught sight of the love of my life.

Victor. My one and only. My reason to live after death, whether he was married or not. Taking my first step forward, feeling my heels touch the dirty, cobbled ground, I kept my gaze upon Victor. He hadn't noticed me yet. He was still looking over his creation. How could a man so wonderful and loveable as him become such a creature of unbelievable things? As I began to fight my way through the battlefield, I realised. This war. I knew what we were fighting for. It wasn't for peace, or for truth, or to end a feud. It was a war for desire. Desire, and only desire.

Bonejangles desire to finish the hate, and get back to the stage at the bar where he belonged.

The soldiers desire to do their leader proud.

Miss Plum's desire to get back to her kitchen, knowing the Land of the Dead was safe.

Pastor Galswell's desire to bring peace to the Land of the Living.

Mr and Mrs Van Dort's desire to have their only son back.

And my desire to continue my peaceful afterlife without the trouble and haunting memories of my past, with or without Victor.

But what was Victor's desire? If he was still the man I fell in love with, he would end this. He wouldn't be here in the first place, but he would bring a stop to this monstrous atrocity.

And if he couldn't bring an end to this war, I would.

He and I saw each other, eye to eye. He noticed what I was wearing, the colour of my tangled hair, the colour of my skin, the dirt on my face from fighting across the field and the state my rotting body was in – beaten, bruised and hurt. Not just physically.

_There's a time and a place to die, but this aint it!_

Taking a step closer, avoiding soldiers who fought to keep me back, I came ever closer to Victor. I could feel his stare burning deep in to my skull. I could see his fists clenching as I took every single step closer. He didn't back away, he just watched me approach him. Maybe he recognised me? Maybe he knew who I was and was waiting to reunite himself with me? Or maybe he was waiting to attack me? Whatever he did, I was going to make him see eye to eye with what he was doing, if it was the last thing that killed me – for a second time, obviously.

I stopped in my tracks. I was a mere two metres away from touching him. It felt so close. He didn't move. He stared at me continuously, like he was imitating a statue, his dark eyes looking deeply in to mine.

"Victor?" I asked. "It's me. It's Emily."

He didn't say a thing. He just looked at me all over, a disgusted smirk on his face.

"Don't you recognise me? Do you not remember?"

"Remember what?" he mumbled. His voice, oh my god! Though I hadn't heard it for such a long time, it sounded so familiar, yet so different.

"Us! What we were. What we had."

He didn't reply. He just took a step back and started to turn and walk away. No! He wasn't walking away, not from me. Taking another step closer, grabbing his arm with both my hands, I forced him to turn around.

"No! You're not walking away like that! Listen to me, Victor. LISTEN TO ME!"

He turned to face me, his eyes filled with evil and his face dripping with malevolence. I was horrified. The last time I had seen a face like that was the night I had died. Lord Barkis had faced me with that look, right before he attacked me. And that's what Victor did next.

He threw his left hand up above his head, his right arm held by my hands. I could only watch in slow motion as his hand came down upon me, slapping me hard across my face, knocking my head sideways and forcing me to the ground. I hit it with such power; I swore I could feel my skull crack.

Horrified, I let myself lay on the ground, my thoughts running through my head.

Was this it? Had he won? Was this battle never going to end? Was I going to lie on this ground and let myself me beaten by another man who I loved? No! No, I was not. As long as I lived my afterlife and as long as this war lasted, I was going to fight.

Raising my head ever so slightly from the stone floor, I saw the looks on everyone's faces. Bonejangles, Miss Plum, Mayhew, the skeleton children, Elder Gutknecht, Alfred, Ethel and even little Scraps.

Everyone who was dead looked at me, their expressions all saying the same thing. "Don't give up!" I had no intention of doing that. Believe me; every single nerve in my aged bones was screaming the same thing. "This has to end now. And I will not give up!"

Turning away from their faces, I caught sight of Victor walking away, his back facing me. His head was slightly bowed and his dark glossy hair was touched with dust and dirt. At that moment, I didn't recognise him. He wasn't the man I knew. The man who brought me back to life wasn't there. He was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a stranger. A monster in a black coat. A beast with a beautiful face. A sight I couldn't bear to see. I wasn't going to put up with this. The man who hit me was not going to carry on like this.

Getting up from the ground, feeling my legs quiver under the weight of my body, wiping my hair away from my face and holding my cheek where Victor had hit me, I stood. My head held high, no matter how much it hurt, my eyes focused on that one man.

_There's a time and a place to die, but this aint it!_

Taking charge of myself, I gathered all my strength. What could I do to bring back the man I love? Fight fire with fire? Hit him as he hit me? No. Violence was never an option. It never ended well. It never ended in happiness, joy or ecstasy. It only carried on, more blood being shed until there was not one drop left.

"You are not walking away from me, Victor!" I said to myself, taking a first step to Victor as he carried on walking away. My slow walk gradually became a jog, then a run, then a sprint. I was suddenly sprinting, feeling the eyes of everyone dead looking upon me as I did.

"This ends here and now!" I found myself screaming to him. He stopped in his tracks, having heard my words. He turned slowly to face me, but I never stopped running. I knew what I had to do and my god, I was going to do it. Elder had once said a leader fights a war based upon an experience or event in the past that influenced violence and misery. I knew what he meant. That night in the church, when we were to be married, and Lord Barkis had walked in, started a fight between the two of them. Violence.

The misery…where did that come from? He was happy in the end. He was alive, he was in love with Victoria…Victoria! She had left him. He practically devoted his life to her, but now she was gone, who did he give his life to? It couldn't be his mother.

"_A son is a mother's son until he acquires a wife."_

But he had no wife. Not anymore. The only other person who was close to being his other wife was…Elder's voice echoed in my mind.

"_He's only ever known two women in his life who weren't his mother. Victoria and you, my dear."_

Me. I was his other intended wife. Victoria could stop him just by being in the room. But me, I had confronted him but he still ignored me. I needed something more powerful than face-to-face to make him realise his mistakes. What was more powerful than face-to-face? Eye to eye? No. Something bigger than that.

"Victor!" I yelled, as the pieces fell in to place. I knew exactly what to do.

He was inches away from seeing me, his face still concealed. Then he turned completely, just as I came close enough to reach out and touch his wrist. I saw his eyes, the curve of his nose, the pale cheeks and the perfectly-shaped ears.

Grabbing hold of his cheeks in my hands, I came eye-to-eye with him. He was stunned; but he made no attempt to push me away. He simply looked at me with his dark chocolate eyes. His face in my hands, the sound of battle cry distant in the background. Just us, standing on the bridge, where we first met, reunited once again in a time of need and peace. The look in his eyes were practically screaming at me.

"Stop this! Stop me!"

"I will."

And then I kissed him.

I could feel the eyes of the living and the dead staring at us, as we kissed. The sight of the leader with the enemy was both astounding and beautiful. I felt Victor kiss me back, his hands slowly making their way from his side up to on my back. He held me closer in our embrace as the sound of guns and muskets slowly died to a gradual silence. Murmurs in the crowd were all saying: "What is he doing?", "What's going on?", "Is it peace?" and "Do they know one another?"

All I could do was ignore them and enjoy the moment with Victor. It seemed like fate, like destiny. We were at the place where we first met, where we first kissed, the start of our relationship. Now we were back, years later, rekindling that love and ending a war at the same time. And it felt so good to be back in his arms. It felt like yesterday we were standing at the altar, reciting our vows. Maybe now Victoria was gone, there was a chance for us to…

One step at a time Emily, just focus on the kiss!

I was the first to pull away, hoping the Victor I knew and loved was back. All I wanted was to hear him speak…

"Emily" he whispered. My dead heart skipped a beat. He said my name! He recognised me!

"Victor?" I whispered back.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You don't know?" I said.

"No."

What could I say to him? You were leading a war? You put the lives of thousands of innocent soldiers at risk? You practically became another person?

"We'll discuss it later" I smiled. I embraced him in a massive hug and rested my head on his shoulder, gripping on to the back of his coat, as his hands placed themselves up on my back, resting his chin on my shoulder, his eyes closed in comfort.

_If there's a future, we want it now!_

"It's peace! The war is over!" I heard Bonejangles cry.

And with that, the sound of thousands of men and women rejoicing echoed across the village square. It was like ecstasy to know I had not only ended a war, but I had back the man I love. And he was in my arms, at that very moment. Bonejangles was right.

It was peace. And it felt so good.

The End.


End file.
